QuestionMy '97 Sebring convertible (2.4 w/o auto-stick) died suddenly while driving. The enginge cranks over, but will not start.
A mechanic friend looked at it, and the PCM is not getting the "spark" signal from the crank sensor. He manually activated I believe the "ASD" relay and could fire the coils/plugs with his scan tool. Engine is getting fuel, fuel pump runs with ignition on. I replaced both cam and crank sensors, also replaced the oil sending unit (it was leaking). He chased the problem to a bad PCM. I bought a reman PCM and still no go. I kept both PCM's (and ate the core cost in the process) to have another mechanic buddy look at it, he says it's the PCM still. I took the car to a different shop (with both PCM's to test) and they checked a bunch of different circuits and wiring and told me it was a bad PCM also. I broke down and bought another reman'd PCM. Just plugged her in today, still no luck. Both reman PCM's are correct part numbers and have been flashed. So now I'm stuck with all three PCM's and still no running vehicle.
I've read up on a bunch of issues with these cars, and the only other major issues I had before this no start condition were 1)horn/radio amp fuse blows - no horn and quiet radio. 2)instrument cluster intermittenly goes in and out.
Neither of these I believed would cause the no start.
So my first question is, could the faulty IPC be causing this? I planned on resoldering the points on the faulty IPC circuit board soon anyways (if I can get the car running).
Any suggestions? I've had a total of 3 mechanics look at it, and spent close to $1000 over the last several months and been without wheels. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
AnswerHappy New Year, Mark!
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Hi Mark,
I wonder if there might be any fault codes stored in the memory of the currently installed pcm. Unfortunately '97 was the changeover point for the code system and for the self-readout capability but give it a try: turn the ignition switch:"on-off-on-off-on and leave on" doing that in 5 seconds or less elapased time. Then watch the check engine light to see if it begins to flash, pause, flash, etc. and if so count the number of flashes before each pause then repeat the process to assure an accurate set of counts OR if that doesn't happen watch the odometer window to see if the mileage reading is replaced by any 4-digit numbers. Then let me know. If that doesn't produce codes then a code reader would do it via the under dash socket by the steering wheel but that involves buying a code reader.
If you are not getting spark then I would check the output of the signals from both the cam and the crank sensors. Each has three wires: an orange power supply, a black/light blue signal ground wire, and the third wire is the signal wire (tan/yellow for the cam, gray/black for the crank). If you have a voltmeter use a couple of fine straight pins to probe the connector socket for the second and third wires. Once you have connection (with the ignition on) try turning the engine over by hand using a socket and ratchet/bar to rotate the engine via the crankshaft bolt at the crank pulley. If the sensors are working you should see pulsing between 5V and 0.3V several times per engine revolution. If not, then we have to get whichever sensor doesn't pulse to do so. If you have pulsing and the ASD is activated (by-passed) to get 12V to the coil pack, then you should get spark for sure. If not, then check the resistance of the coil pack primary wires and between the coil pack towers.
So let me know what you learn and we can either get deeper into a specific abnormality or try to find another reason for the no start if you indeed have fuel and spark, such as a faulty sensor that controls the mixture of fuel/air, or a stuck slightly ajar egr valve. You may have focussed too much on the pcm without considering other possibilities. Did they actually get a pc failed fault code or did they simply default to that belief?
Roland
